Because as they said in Latin class, faeces sunt (you know, “stuff happens”).

A while back, I took a break from woodworking to do a metal working project for the shop. Unfortunately, metal work and woodwork seldom play well together in the same shop.  The oil and grease lubes used in working metal tend to attract sawdust, and if they get spread around the shop, they can pollute the raw, unfinished wood of a project in progress.  That’s just what happened here.

Somehow, I managed to get lubricating oil spilled on the surface of the makore table before it was finished.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the spill, but the oil soaked into the wood and would have ruined the finish if not dealt with.  The solution was to repeatedly rub some fresh sawdust onto the surface, replenishing it as it became polluted with the oil.

Eventually after repeated applications, the oil was effectively removed.  The rubbing did leave the wood surface slightly burnished, sanding with the last grit used should take care of that.

Apparently, those lessons in solid phase partitioning theory that I sat through in chemistry class are still paying dividends, even in my retirement.  Now to get a coat of finish on this thing before anything else happens.

Cheers,
Tom